


til kingdom come (undone)

by sparklesandjazzhands



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Banished Zuko (Avatar), But when isn't he, F/M, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, and katara makes some interesting life choices, au where ursa is better to azula, not really a nation swap but like, same general idea, zuko is having an internal crisis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26412271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklesandjazzhands/pseuds/sparklesandjazzhands
Summary: After three fruitless years searching for the Avatar, Azula is beginning to think that she should've just stayed in the Fire Nation with her father. But just as it's beginning to seem hopeless, she and her brother Zuko encounter a strange glacier at the Southern Pole, and her entire worldview is flipped on its head. Meanwhile, Katara and Sokka set sail for the Earth Kingdom, but their goal changes rather quickly when they come face to face with the Avatar himself.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	til kingdom come (undone)

**Author's Note:**

> i lowkey relate to azula, so i wanted to try my hand at writing a redemption for her. enjoy! (or not, that's fine too)

Under the weak light of the Southern Pole sun, Azula, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and princess of the Fire Nation, lay in wait. The snow covering her chilled her to the very bone and the rocks embedded deep into the permafrost dug into her knees, but she stayed silent and still, waiting for her prey to appear. Lying on the ground underneath a snow pile made sure that she could see approaching people without them seeing her, and she intended to use that to her advantage. It only took a few minutes before she could see the telltale maroon robes that stood out so well against the blinding white snow of the Southern Pole. _Perfect timing, brother dearest,_ she thought, smirking as a boy wearing red robes crept out into the open plains of ice.

Prince Zuko scrutinized his surroundings, on high alert for any incoming dangers or attackers. Though the sunlight was weak and watery, it reflected off of the snowy plains around him, making a sharp contrast to the dim candlelight that illuminated the lower levels of their ship and making him squint and shield his eyes. That distraction, however momentary it may have been, gave Azula an opening, which she gladly took without an ounce of hesitation. She jumped up from where she had been lying in wait, took a few silent steps, and lunged at Zuko with her arms outstretched.

“Azula!” Zuko yelped as she tackled him to the snow-covered ground, the siblings tumbling over one another until they finally came to a stop in a tangled pile of limbs. Azula rolled on top of her brother and loomed over him, bringing her hand up towards his face before placing her finger on the tip of his nose.

“Tag,” she grinned.

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Zuko sighed, trying to push his sister off of him and get up. When she stayed on top of him, laughing at his pitiful attempts, he went limp in defeat. “Can I get up now?”

“Nope.”

Rolling his eyes, Zuko grabbed a handful of snow from the ground next to him and pushed it into his sister’s face. As she shrieked in surprise, he scrambled up from the ground and started running away across the icy plains, slipping and sliding as he went.

Behind him, Azula pushed herself to her feet, using her firebending to raise her body temperature until the snow ran down her face in streams of warm water and rose off in puffs of steam. She wiped the water off of her face and flicked her wrists to get it off of her hands before chasing after her brother. For a few minutes, they sprinted in tandem past icebergs and piles of snow, Azula steadily gaining ground on her brother, until Zuko skidded to a stop at the bank of an ice-filled river. Unable to slow down in time, Azula slammed into him hard enough that they both went flying into the freezing waters.

Azula surfaced with a choked-off cry, flailing and struggling to stay above the churning water. Unlike normally, dignity was the last of her worries, as her mouth filled with water and her increasingly leaden limbs tugged her down and away from the riverbank. Just as she managed to get her head above water and take a deep breath, a chunk of ice crashed into her, dragging her further under the water and sending her tumbling down the river. The only thing she could do was panic until a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the water, dropping her unceremoniously onto a smooth, cold surface.

“What was that for?” Azula yelped, unable to think of anything else to say.

“I don’t know, would you rather have drowned?” Zuko shot back, his voice sounding panicked and higher than normal. For some reason, the idea that he was concerned for her felt reassuring, but she pushed the notion aside in favor of realizing they were still on the water. The two grabbed onto the ice block like their lives depended on it (which they did, Azula realized) as it hurtled down the river, squeezing their eyes shut against the constant spray of freezing water.

Eventually, the river emptied out into a calm lake, and the block of ice they were floating on stopped moving. Azula’s hair, usually pulled back into a neat bun, hung loose and tangled around her shoulders, though her brother’s phoenix tail had somehow managed to stay perfectly intact during the ordeal. With nothing else to do, they climbed back on top of the ice block and sat down on it to meditate.

“This is stupid,” Azula declared after a few moments of silence.

An edge of irritation crept into Zuko’s response. “Well, what else can we do?”

“I don’t know,” Azula said, glaring coldly at her brother. “Why don’t you tell me? It’s your fault we’re stranded in the middle of a river and not safe and warm inside our ship, after all.”

Zuko bristled at the accusation. “Well, maybe if you had stopped when I did, we wouldn’t have fallen in!”

His sister rocketed to her feet, starting to yell. “Maybe you should’ve stopped sooner, then! Or actually used your eyes for once to see where you were going!”

“Um, Azula?” Zuko piped up, looking at something behind her. “There’s, uh…”

Azula ignored him and carried on, blue fire streaming from her hands as she gestured angrily. “Oh wait, that’s right, you only have one eye now! I wonder why that is. Maybe its because you rushed into something without realizing what you were doing, like now! Haven’t you learned anything?!”

“Azula,” Zuko tried again. “Behind you!”

She continued ranting, pacing back and forth and shooting more flames out of her palms. “I shouldn’t even be here right now! I should be back in the Fire Nation right now with Father, being his perfect child! But _no_ , you just _had_ to show weakness in front of the Fire Lord, and you just _had_ to get banished. Everything would be perfect if it wasn’t for you!”

“Azula!” Zuko yelled at the top of his lungs, finally catching her attention.

“WHAT?!” she snapped, whirling around to see what her brother was so focused on. Whatever she was about to say caught in her throat, though, as she saw the massive glacier just behind them and watched in horror as the flames she had thrown during her rant burned their way through the glacier and shattered it. Gigantic chunks of ice broke free from the glacier and hit the water with colossal splashes, rocking their little ice float and almost capsizing them. For the second time in as many hours, the Fire Nation siblings found themselves clinging onto an ice block for dear life.

Though the churning waters quickly settled, something else was awakening from under the surface. Zuko spat water out of his mouth and climbed back on top of the ice block as his sister did the same, sweeping her hair out of her eyes and shaking her head to dry it a little before staring at the water in front of them in shock. A sphere of pure ice seemed to be rising from the depths, distinguishable only by the blue light emanating from the inside of the circle and the shadowy figures of a boy and a giant creature glowing from within. It bobbed to the surface and leveled out, floating closer to the awed siblings.

“Wow,” Azula murmured, placing a hand on the glowing ice in a motion that would have seemed reverent on anybody else. “I wonder who’s inside, and if they’re still alive.”

“They might be,” Zuko offered quietly, subconsciously mirroring his sister’s actions. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.” 

In unison, their hands pressed harder against the solid wall of ice and started to radiate heat. Immediately, the iceberg cracked open, both siblings shielding their faces as a blast of pure energy rippled out, revealing what was trapped inside.

____________

“The waters are wild today,” Katara mused, idly flicking one hand back and forth to try and calm the strong currents that churned the canal waters underneath her. 

“I don’t see a difference,” her brother Sokka shrugged, hopping up to sit on the edge of the railing his sister had propped her arms up against.

Katara fixed her brother with a look of annoyance almost as frosty as the bridge they stood on. “You’re not a waterbender, of course you wouldn’t.” Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention to the view in front of them.

Sokka followed her eyes to the wide ocean in front of them. “It’s really beautiful here, isn’t it?” he murmured, not wanting to break the peace of the moment. A cool breeze blew by, ruffling the hair that now fell a little past his ears and sweeping Katara’s more traditional updo from over her right shoulder to blow gently behind her in the wind. 

“Yeah,” Katara sighed, staring across the water. “It’s so different here than in our old tribe. There’s a lot more people than we ever had in the south, and its a lot safer here. I just wish I was certain this was the right thing to do”

“What are you looking for, a sign?” Sokka teased goodnaturedly. “It’s also prettier here, though, and there’s more fish, so I get why you would want to stay.” Without looking, he could feel the heat of Katara’s glare on him and waited for her to make one of her trademark cutting remarks.

“Not necessarily! And anyway, aren’t there other more relevant things to focus on?” she asked, raising one eyebrow. “We’re leaving for the South Pole tomorrow, you know, and we won’t see the new recruits again until we rendezvous in the Earth Kingdom. Shouldn’t you be talking to them, making sure they’re ready for battle and whatever else you do?”

“Hey, just because I’m the lead war strategist doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate beauty when I see it,” Sokka replied, crossing his arms indignantly. “Shouldn’t _you_ be drinking magic water or something?”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Ha ha, very funny,” she deadpanned. “In that case, you should go say goodbye to Princess Yue.”

“Maybe I will!” Her brother yelled as he began to storm off down the bridge, still on the railing.

“Yeah, and confess your undying love to her while you’re at it!” Katara called after him teasingly, watching in amusement as he spluttered, lost his balance, and promptly fell into the canal.

“KATARA!” Sokka shrieked as he hit the frigid water, voice cracking higher than it had any right to. “GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

Theatrically rolling her eyes, Katara bent the water around him, lifting him up and dropping him onto the bridge, soaking wet. “Well?” she asked, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow in a well-practiced move. “Aren’t you gonna go talk to Princess Yue?”

Sokka shivered and stomped the bridge with his foot, which only resulted in him slipping on the ice and landing on his butt. “Aren’t you gonna dry me off?”

“Hmm…” Katara pretended to think hard for a moment before breaking into a teasing grin. “Nope!”

Sokka hmphed in frustration and turned away from her, muttering under his breath about “stupid Katara” and “undying love my foot” as he started to stomp off down the bridge. Waving goodbye, Katara called out, “Have fun, loverboy!”

Before he could get far, though, a gust of wind blew past them, strong enough to slam them both into the back of the bridge they were standing on. Katara watched in shock from up against the icy guardrail as the wind blew through the city, stirring up waves in the canals and knocking people into each other. As one, she and her brother twisted around, tracking the path of the wind with their eyes as it approached the chief’s temple and with it, the Spirit Oasis.

The moment the wind reached the oasis, it died down, allowing Katara and Sokka to get back to their feet and watch in wonder as the waterfall started to glow. White light spilled out of the entrance to the Spirit Oasis, mixing with the waterfall and flowing through the city before pouring out into the deep blue ocean. The ice it touched started to glow and thrum with power, and when Katara touched it, she felt an overwhelming rush of power unlike anything she’d felt before. As the light stopped spilling from the waterfall, it began to fade from the rest of the water until it was back to its normal shades of blue, and the power within the ice melted away like an ice cube clutched in a warm hand. The unnaturally still waters and the buzz of power still fading from Katara’s mind were the only signs that anything had even happened, and even those were disappearing quickly as her head cleared and the currents began to stir the water up once more.

The siblings stared at each other for a minute of shocked silence before Sokka, always good at quickly recovering from strange events, shrugged at his sister and said, “Well, you were looking for a sign, right?”

Katara didn’t visibly react, just stared out at the infinite expanse of blue beyond them. “Yeah,” she murmured, still entirely focused on the inexplicable power that had surged through her only a moment before. “I guess I was.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked it! kudos and comments are always appreciated :)


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